Improvement in machines for forming spring-keys



' 2SheetS--ShetL M.,DEERING.

Machines for Forming Spring-Keys. N0I 143,226, Patented September301873.

WZSheets--SheetZ. M. DEERING.

Machines for Forming Spring-Keys. N0, 143,226, PtentedSeptemberSO,1873.

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nate the lever and cut oft' cap c4.

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MICHAEL DEEEING, 0E SYEAOUSE, NEw YORK, AssIcNo'E rro SWEET, BARNES aco., 0E SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR FORMING SPRING-KEYS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 143,226, datedSeptember S0, 1873; application tiled May 24, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL DEEEING, of Syracuse, Onondaga county, NewYork, have invented certain Improved Machinery for Making Spring-Keys,called a Spring- Key Bender, of which the following is a specification:

This device is for the purpose of shaping a spring-key from a strip ofmetal rod or drawn wire at a single operation. It consistsof the partsshown in the accompanying; drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a sideelevation; Fig. 2, a plan of the bed-plate with the fixtures thereon;

y Fig. 3, section on line A A, Fig. 2; Fig. 4,

the sliding pin detached that forms the eye; Fig. 5, a spring-key formedin the machine.

Like parts in the several gures are indicated by the same letters ofreference.

The bed-plate a is an oblong fiat plate of sufficient stren gth tosustain the devices thereon. To this bed-plate c is affixed acuttingblock, b. (Shown in section, Fig. 2.) Through this block there isa horizontal hole', c, of proper Shape to receive the `material fromwhich the keys are to be made. The drawing, Fig. 1, shows a round holefor a wire. A steel cutter, d, is affixed in a proper recess in thisblock on the front side of the hole, and a sliding piece, c, having asimilar hole through its sides, moves forward past the cutter to cut Othe piece when fed in. The slide-piece e is forced forward by a lever,e1, having a set-screw, e2, through its upper end, that is struck by themain slide as it recedes to actthe piece that has been fed in. Thismovement is shown bythe dotted lines in Fig. 1. The slide is drawn backby a spring, c3, and is held in place by On a line with openings c areVtwo studs or pins, f, projecting up from the bedplate et, to guide thekey-blank, and on the opposite side, facing pins f, are twostud-rollers, g. The length of the blank for a key is determined by agage, It. In front of the studrollers g forming-rollers it' are placed,having recesses 7c on their peripheries to shape the eye of the key andstraighten the Shanks. To these rollers are axed springs y y', that,after a key has passed through between them,

cause therollers to return to their position, Fi g.

2, where they are stopped by brackets ready for another blank. Just infront of rollers g a spring-holder, g, is sunk in the bed-plate, whichis depressed by the pin'p as it passes over it, but springs up and holdsthe halves of the shank apart while the eye of the key is formed. Beyondthe forming-rollers fifi thereis an opening, a', in the plate c, throughwhich the finished keys are discharged. At a proper distance above platec is a horizontally-sliding arm, m, on the front end of which atoolholder, n, is affixed. tool-holder a has a Sleeve, o, in it, held bysetscrews o 5 or it may be made in one piece with the tool-holder. Inthis sleeve o a pin, p, fits and slides up and down, and is constructedas seen in Fig. 3. This pin p should be as large as the outside of theeye of the key, and its lower end turned down to the size of theinterior ofthe eye of the key that is to be formed. This is important,giving a large part, which just lits the recess lc formed by the rollersz', and causes them to revolve as it passes through between them, whilethe blank out of which the key is formed is bent around the reducedportion of pin p without any strain being brought upon the smaller partto turn the rollers t'.

The operation is as follows: The blank from which the key is made is fedin, a sufficient distance, regulated by the gage h, and is then cut offby the slide-cutter e. The pin p drops into place, and is forced forwardagainst the center of the blank, which it bends into a loop and carriesforward between the stud.rollers g, which are grooved to the figure ofthe blank, the ends of which are held apart by the studs or pins f untilthe spring-holder g rises up, after pin p has passed over it, betweenthe two parts of the shank, while the bight enters the recess k in theforming-rollers, which are caused to turn by the enlarged part of pin p,so as to allow the said pin to pass through between them, which bendsthe blank close around the reduced part of pin p, and crimps the twosides closein contact at the neck ofthe shank, which result is aided bythe sprin g` holder g', that keeps the ends of the shank apart until theeye is formed, after which, as

(See Figs. 3 and 4.) This the pin p advances beyond the forming-rollersi t', the shank is drawn through and straightened. When the uished keythus formed leaves the forming-rollers it is brought over the opening ain the plate a, and the pin p is drawn out of theeye of the key, whichis prevented from rising by the clearers r', and then falls out of themachine. The pin p is drawn up out of the eye of the key by means of anarm, 19', affixed to it, which projects through a slot in the side ofthe sleeve o, and strikes a stationary incline, s, that raises it. Whenthe arm 19' reaches the upper end of the slot in sleeve o it is held bya bayonet-catch, onto which it is turned, and where it remains until theslide m recedes, carrying the pin 1o back into the rst position, wherethe arm p is thrown off and the pin drops into place, aided by a spring,t, in the sleeve o, ready for a second operation.

The main slide m, from which all the other parts receive their motion,is made to slide forward and back by. any convenient moving power andmechanical device. The rollers it' can be relatively adjusted tocompensate for wear or varying sizes of the blanks by a slide andset-screw, w', as seen in Fig. 2. The sides of the shank of the pin p inthat case are reduced somewhat, leaving the front full size, which doesnot interfere withl the adjustment.

In the invention herein described, I claiml. The combination, as hereindescribed and shown, of the notched rollers e' z' and the mandrel p andthe springs y y', the rollers being moved in one direction by themandrel lo, and in the opposite direction by the springs y y', as andfor the purposes herein set forth.

2. The combination of the spring-holder g and rollers i i, for formingthe crimp inthe eye of the key.

3. The combination of the stud-rollers g, spring-holder g', andforming-rollers t' t', as and for the purposes specified.

MICHAEL DEERING.

Witnesses:

J. J. GREENOUGH, A. WILLs.

